MTL@PHI Quotes of the day: Muller

TORONTO - The day after it was announced that head coach Claude Julien would be out for the remainder of the Flyers series as he recovers from a medical procedure, associate coach Kirk Muller took to the podium to answer questions from the media as the Habs look to even the series in Game 2 against Philadelphia on Friday.

Opening statement:

"First off, on behalf of the coaching staff, management, and players here in Toronto: Claude and the family, we're definitely thinking of you guys. We're happy to hear the good news and we're hoping for a quick recovery so we can see you back here.

"We're thinking of Claude and his health, but we must remain focused and play our game."

"On pense à Claude et à sa santé, mais on doit rester [concentrés] et jouer notre jeu."

Muller's reaction to being thrust into the situation:

"The biggest thing is Claude's health. After talking to him last night and him giving the indication that he's going to recover, he made it easy for me to move forward in this situation with our staff. He just said, 'You guys know what we believe in, what we're going to do.' We all know Claude is a well-prepared coach. I have a lot of confidence in the guys I'm with right here, with Luke [Richardson], Steph [Stephane Waite], and Dom [Dominique Ducharme]. We're going to work well together and work hard together.

"Claude is fired up. He quickly took away from talking about him and his situation and talked about the team. That's always a good sign."

On the fact that Muller doesn't speak French:

"You just heard my French; it's not that bad, is it? (laughs) Right now, we're just focused on 3:00 p.m. today. We have a group of guys who want to do well for Claude, they want to play hard for him, our staff wants to do well for him. That's our biggest focus right now."

On whether Muller will be making any adjustments to the lines or lineup for Game 2:

"We're in the playoffs, and we're here to win. You always have to make adjustments when you're playing the same team in a playoff round. We had to do a little bit of that during Game 1, and I'm sure we'll have to do it in-house during Game 2. As far as personnel, that's my job, to put the best 20 guys on the ice, no matter who it is. My job is to get this team to win. I have to make those adjustments, and I'll work with my staff to make those calls."

"I think the key really is that we're not going to change much on our Xs and Os. There are always little tweaks but we have to recognize which guys are going and which guys aren't. There are no hard feelings; it's the playoffs. The way our team is built is we need everybody. We don't rely on a few guys, and that's ok. That's the strength of our hockey team. Strength in numbers. We've got a really good group of guys. We've got a lot of leadership. They've done an amazing job of keeping this group focused in the bubble here and it's our job to get the guys prepared for the start of the game and have them playing hard right through 60 minutes or 60 minutes plus."

On whether and how the coaches' responsibilities will change behind the bench in Julien's absence:

"We're going to try to keep it as consistent as we can so not much changes for the players. We're right in the playoffs here. Luke is doing a great job running the D and he'll continue to work on the PK. Dom and I will work together. I'll be making decisions during the game, 5-on-5, and I'll talk to Dom a lot about scenarios that happen. He'll give me information on faceoffs and on who's doing well and who's not. Nothing that's any different in terms of when Claude's there."

What Muller would like to bring to the role as he mans the bench for Game 2:

"Emotion. Passion. How fun is it where we are, with the job Gary Bettman and the guys have done to have this happen? I see that in the room. They're only focused on hockey here and we have a great opportunity. Coming in here and winning that first round and moving on and seeing our young guys and old guys working together and gelling together and seeing what they've accomplished. That's what it's all about. That's why we do this. Hopefully my experience as a player and a coach, and with our staff it's the same thing, we can use our resources to help these guys. I've always said it's always about the players. It's their time, it's their turn, and I just love watching our guys enjoy this moment. We have to go out and have fun. We've got to play hard. We've got to earn every piece of ice in every game that we can by playing that way.

"We know we're in a big challenge in this series with Philadelphia, but that's what's fun about it. We're prepared, we're ready to go, and we're excited for today's game."